Classical Music Isn’t Dead
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-fat-lady-is-still-singing

Day 20

Words and Phrases

Those words rang out across the Internet

ring out phrasal verb When a sound rings out, it is loud and clear

A shot rang out and the crowd became quite.

complete with a gravestone illustration and the hoary?cliché?of?the?singing?fat?lady.

complete with = including 這里的complete是形容詞

The premium suite comes complete with all the accessories

gravestone 墓碑 =tombstone, headstone

hoary/?h??.ri/US/?h??r.i/ adjective 1 OLD-FASHIONED very old and familiar and therefore not interesting or amusing 2 LITERARY(of a person) very old and white- or grey-haired

We will not be fooled by such a hoary trick.

New York City Opera folded last fall

fold verb[I] (of a business) to close because of failure

Some argued that the folding of off-line shops were attributed to taobao.

announced energetic 2014-15 seasons

A?season?is a period in which a play or show, or a series of plays or shows, is performed in one place.

Eason Chan will be in Shanghai for a one-week season.

So what brought on this latest spasm of morbidity?

If something?brings on?an illness, pain, or feeling, especially one that you often suffer from, it causes you to have it.

The smog has brought on the rise of respiratory disease.

spasm/?sp?z.?m/ of sth a short period of something, especially something uncontrollable 本來是抽筋的意思

A sight of the Korean star caused a spasm of applause in the crowd.

morbid/?m??.b?d/US/?m??r-/ adjectiveDISAPPROVING too interested in unpleasant subjects, especially death morbidity noun[U] (精神之) 病態(tài),不健康； [又作 a ~] (特定地區(qū)等之) 發(fā)病率

It was a morbidity that almost everyone went into the stock market last year.

the American media so fixated on the supposedly imminent demise of classical music

fixated/f?k?se?.t?d/US/?f?k.se?.??d/ adjective[after verb] unable to stop thinking about something: ~ on/with sth

They had only met once, but became fixated on each other.

demise/d??ma?z/ 注意發(fā)音 noun[S]FORMAL 1 death 2 the end of something that was previously considered to be powerful, such as a business, industry or system

Wechat announces the demise of sms.

how superfluous it is to ...

superfluous/su??p??.flu.?s/?注意重音在p?US/-?p??-/ adjective more than is needed or wanted

One problem of modern society is that we have superfluous information.

superfluity/?su?.p??flu?.?.ti/US/-p??flu?.?.?i/ noun[C]FORMAL

雖然劍橋詞典上有superfluousness，但并沒有在其他詞典中找到。

There is a creepy bloodlust to the doom-mongering of classical music

creepy/?kri?.pi/ adjectiveINFORMAL strange or unnatural and making you feel frightened

Most people think snakes are creepy animals.

creeps/kri?ps/ plural nounINFORMAL?give?sb?the creeps?to cause someone to have uncomfortable feelings of nervousness or fear

bloodlust lust欲望，bloodlust對血的欲望

new chamber ensemble

An?ensemble/?ns'?mb?l/ is a group of musicians, actors, or dancers who regularly perform together.

write a compelling profile of a discovery

A profile of someone is a short article or programme in which their life and character are described.

We read a profile of Angela Merkel last semester.

a purportedly comatose industry

If you say that something haspurportedlybeen done, you mean that you think that it has been done but you cannot be sure. (FORMAL) = supposedly

comatose/?k??.m?.t??s/US/?ko?.m?.to?s/ adjective 1 SPECIALIZEDin a coma 2 INFORMAL very tired or in a deep sleep because of extreme tiredness, hard work or too much alcohol

classical-music concern-trolls toss poorly aimed barbs

concern-troll (Internet slang)Someone who posts to an internet forum or newsgroup, claiming to share its goals while deliberately working against those goals, typically, by claiming "concern" about group plans to engage in productive activity, urging members instead to attempt some activity that would damage the group's credibility, or alternatively to give up on group projects entirely. 號稱關(guān)心，實際上還是噴子

barb?a remark that is clever but cruel and hurtful

We accept constructive criticism but not barbs.

abstruse rules of conduct

abstruse/?b?stru?s/ adjective FORMAL difficult to understand

This paper is too abstruse for me to understand.

one that maniacally insists that

maniacal/m??na??.k?l/?adjective describes a cry or laugh that is loud and wild

After having defeated the angels, the demon burst into a maniacal laughter.

opera intendants were oblivious to their own problems

intendant?管理者; 監(jiān)督官

If you are?oblivious?to something or oblivious of it, you are not aware of it.

People criticize the intendants for being oblivious to the food safety problem.

the pundit demands

a person who knows a lot about a particular subject and is therefore often asked to give an opinion about it = expert

We shall consult a pundit for opinions.

jeremiads

/?d?er??ma??d/ n(fml文) long, sad and complaining story of troubles, misfortunes, etc 悲傷的長篇故事; 血淚史.

The recent Chinese history is a jeremiad.

classical music is an aberration in the United States

aberration/??b.??re?.??n/ noun[C or U] FORMAL a temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving

classical music has endured

If something?endures, it continues to exist without any loss in quality or importance. =persist

Few scholars endured in the Culture Revolution.

what the historian Joseph Horowitz calls “moral fire,”

Joseph Horowitz wrote the book?Moral Fire: Musical Portraits from America's Fin de Siècle (end of the century)

the blaze is palpable

so obvious that it can easily be seen or known, or (of a feeling) so strong that it seems as if it can be touched or physically felt

The young boy's eagerness to join the party is palpable.

It is not a profession for the apathetic.

adjective lacking interest or energy; unwilling to take action especially over a matter of importance

In China, people are apathetic about helping strangers.

na?ve devotees without business acumen

devotee/?dev.??ti?/ noun[C] a person who strongly admires a particular person or is extremely interested in a subject

Sheldon is a devotee of trains.

acumen/??k.j?.m?n/ noun[U] FORMAL skill in making correct decisions and judgments in a particular subject, such as business or politics

Sadly, I lack the acumen of investment.

through the days of aristocratic patronage

aristocracy 1560s, "government by those who are the best citizens," from aristos "best of its kind, noblest, bravest, most virtuous" (see aristo-) + abstract noun from kratos "rule, power" (see -cracy).

democracy from Greek demokratia "popular government," from demos "common people," originally "district" (see?demotic), +kratos "rule, strength" (see?-cracy).

autocracy 1650s, "independent power, self-sustained power, self-government" (obsolete), from autos "self" (see?auto-) +kratia "rule" (see?-cracy). Meaning "absolute government, unlimited political power invested in a single person" is recorded from 1855.

Patronage /p'?tr?n?d?, p'e?t-/ is the support and money given by someone to a person or a group such as a charity. =sponsorship

The writer in prison is said to receive foreign patronage.

Marx Brothers’ “A Night at the Opera.”

歌聲儷影 A Night at the Opera(1935) 劇情描述三兄弟之中的老大想盡辦法欺騙一名貴婦投資他的歌劇公司，不料兩名調(diào)皮搗蛋的弟弟卻在歌劇首演之夜在臺前幕后大出洋相，但如此以來卻讓兩名真正有天份的年輕歌唱家得到出頭機會。

Classical music was for pretentious snobs in 1935

pretentious/pr??tent.??s/ adjective DISAPPROVING trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature

If you call someone a?snob, you disapprove of them because they admire upper-class people and have a low opinion of lower-class people.

Modern art is for pretentious snobs now.

penned “Appalachian Spring,”

If someone?pens?a letter, article, or book, they write it. (FORMAL)

The Three Body, penned by Liu Cixin, is a bestseller of Chinese science fiction.

Granted, classical music has lost the central position

You use?granted?or?granted that?at the beginning of a clause to say that something is true, before you make a comment on it.

Granted, your anger is reasonable, but retaliation will not make things better.

when the NBC Symphony Orchestra blared through home radios

If something such as a siren or radio?blares?or if you?blare?it, it makes a loud, unpleasant noise.

Some people hate radio because it blares ads of sterility.

exalted status

To?exalt?someone or something means to praise them very highly. (FORMAL)

Someone or something that is at an exalted level is at a very high level, especially with regard to rank or importance. (FORMAL) =lofty

His father being a senior official, he enjoys an exalted status among his peers.

cultural prowess

prow|ess/pr'a??s/ [N-UNCOUNT] Someone's?prowess?is their great skill at doing something. (FORMAL)

He's always boasting about his?sexual?prowess.

flex soft power

If you?flex?your muscles or parts of your body, you bend, move, or stretch them for a short time in order to exercise them.

flex one's muscles?show one's strength and power, esp as a warning or to display pride in oneself

China tries to export TV series to neighbouring countries so as to flex soft power.

the wide expanse of the American cultural landscape

An?expanse?of?something, usually sea, sky, or land, is a very large amount of it.

整句話都很好

Mo Yan's winning the Nobel prize for literature is a manifestation of the progress made within the wide expanse of the Chinese cultural landscape.

A cursory glance at

A?cursory?glance or examination is a brief one in which you do not pay much attention to detail. =perfunctory

Holmes could deduce the guest's occupation at a cursory glance.

it’s a niche market

A niche is a hollow area in a wall which has been made to hold a statue, or a natural hollow part in a hill or cliff.?

Your?niche?is the job or activity which is exactly suitable for you.

Niche?marketing is the practice of dividing the market into specialized areas for which particular products are made. A?niche?market is one of these specialized areas. (BUSINESS)

The niche market is highly specialized, and aiming to survive among the competition from numerous super companies. Even established companies create products for different niches, for example, Hewlett-Packard has all-in-one machines for printing, scanning and faxing targeted for the home office niche while at the same time having separate machines with one of these functions for big businesses.

polyglot society

Polyglot?is used to describe something such as a book or society in which several different languages are used. (FORMAL)

A?polyglot?is a person who speaks or understands many languages.

not reigning supreme

Someone or something that reigns supreme?is the most important or powerful element in a situation or period of time.

Stability reigning supreme for our government.

cherry-pick a few crisis-ridden institutions

If someone?cherry-picks?people or things, they choose the best ones from a group of them, often in a way that other people consider unfair.

Your should not cherry-pick the experiment results to support your proposition.

a thousand-year-old cultural lineage

lin|eage/l'?ni?d?/(lineages)?[N-VAR] Someone'slineageis the series of families from which they are directly descended. (FORMAL)

原來文化傳承可以這么說。

The leadership decided that we had a history lineage of 10 thousand years.

it can’t be snuffed out

To?snuff out?something such as a disagreement means to stop it, usually in a forceful or sudden way.

Every time a new flicker of resistance appeared, the government snuffed it?out...

remains relatively vibrant in the face of ...

Someone or something that is?vibrant?is full of life, energy, and enthusiasm.

He recovered from the illness and is vibrant again.

in the face of?despite having to deal with a difficult situation or problem? ? 不顧（困難等）

Our troop managed to capture the hill in the face of the enemy's violent attack.

fly in the face of sth ■not to obey something, or not to act in a way that agrees with something ???違抗；違背

The classical-music declinists 看來是自創(chuàng)的詞

civic pride

You use?civic?to describe the duties or feelings that people have because they belong to a particular community.

...a sense of civic pride, ie citizens' pride in their town 市民的自豪（市民對自己城市的自豪）

the uncanny thrill of hearing Mahler live

If you describe something as?uncanny, you mean that it is strange and difficult to explain.

Love is uncanny.

American classical music launched in earnest on Christmas Day of 1815.

If something is done or happens in earnest, it happens to a much greater extent and more seriously than before. =seriously

The Olympics will start in earnest tomorrow.

unveiled excerpts from European oratorios

An oratorio is a long piece of music with a religious theme which is written for singers and an orchestra. （通常以《圣經(jīng)》內(nèi)容為主題的）清唱劇, 神劇。同義詞cantata

a rousing “Hallelujah” chorus

If something or someone?rouses?you, they make you very emotional or excited.

sounds of death throes

If someone is experiencing something very unpleasant or emotionally painful, you can say that they are in the?throes?of it, especially when it is in its final stages. (FORMAL)

The?death throes?of?something are its final stages, just before it fails completely or ends. (LITERARY)

Day 21

Mind Map

Day 22

Sum up

本文主要功效是一瞥美國打臉文。針對欲駁斥的論調(diào)，作者指出了其以偏概全、玩弄數(shù)字以及太想當然等問題。其中還運用到很多妙趣橫生的比喻和腦補，比如“磚家”揪著古典音樂業(yè)內(nèi)人士說你們需要檢討，我可是有數(shù)據(jù)的；以及活體解剖的“血腥畫面”…… 但是做邏輯圖還是花了好大功夫，結(jié)果還不甚滿意。對于邏輯圖1，想總結(jié)批判對象犯的錯誤，例如Sweeping generalization，再將具體的例子歸入其下一級，但發(fā)現(xiàn)很難歸結(jié)出幾個頂層的問題。應(yīng)該是概括能力不行。再者邏輯圖2，本來是設(shè)想按照三條線：文章結(jié)構(gòu)，反方觀點和舉例及正方觀點和舉例，但真的羅列起來，又覺得難以區(qū)分是反方的表現(xiàn)還是正方的評價。總之構(gòu)想是好的，實現(xiàn)起來就困難重重。但有雞湯說得好，人還是不能老待在自己的舒適域內(nèi)。還是改對比安妮的圖找差距。